Findings on whether a flagship government scheme to improve pupil behaviour is working have been delayed until 2024 - three years after the scheme was launched.
The delay comes as school leaders warn that behaviour is becoming increasingly challenging to manage since the pandemic.
The Department for Education’s behaviour hubs scheme, launched in spring 2021, is aimed at addressing the problem, and interim findings from an evaluation of the programme were due by June 2023 at the latest.
However, Tes has established that the release of the findings has now been pushed back to next year after the DfE’s contract with the firm commissioned to produce the interim report came to an end in July due to a “no-fault exit”.
The behaviour hubs scheme pairs schools and multi-academy trusts that have “exemplary” behaviour practices - called “lead” schools - with “partner” schools that want to improve behaviour.
Rob Williams, senior policy adviser at the NAHT school leaders’ union, called on the DfE to share findings from the programme as soon as possible.
“Schools tell us that pupil behaviour, which is sometimes linked to mental health issues and unmet [special educational needs and disabilities], is becoming increasingly challenging to manage, especially since the pandemic.
“It’s...vital that any interim learning or evidence from the behaviour hubs programme is shared as soon as possible, even if this challenges some of the approaches adopted by behaviour hubs.”
Behaviour problems in schools
Mr Williams added that the DfE should ensure that, whatever the reason for the delay, schools are kept well informed as to when they can expect to see interim findings.
The contract for the evaluation of the behaviour hubs programme was originally awarded to Ecorys UK Ltd in May 2021, with documents revealing that the DfE expected the consultancy to produce an interim report “of publishable quality” by the end of June this year.
However, Tes has been told that the contract between the DfE and Ecorys for the evaluation of the behaviour hubs programme came to an end on 31 July.
Last month the DfE contracted the National Centre for Social Research to analyse the data collected so far and look at additional data collection.
The final evaluation report of the hubs scheme is due by February 2025 and the DfE said it hopes it will be delivered on schedule.
As a result of the retendering, the interim report will not now be published until 2024, Tes understands.
The news comes as findings from Teacher Tapp reveal that 71 per cent of teachers polled this month think that the behaviour of pupils has deteriorated since they began their teaching careers, up from 35 per cent in October 2018.
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said the delay was “disappointing”, as the hubs scheme is “virtually the only policy initiative undertaken by the government to support schools in dealing with challenging behaviour”.
“We fully support the principle of school-to-school support and there is clearly some good work being done by lead schools and trusts working with partners. But it is important to evaluate this programme as a whole to ensure it is as effective as possible,” he said.
ASCL also wants the government to look “urgently at the impact on behaviour of the cost-of-living crisis, rising mental health problems and unmet special educational needs”, Mr Barton added.
A Department for Education spokesperson said that the behaviour hubs programme is supporting up to 700 schools to improve behaviour.
“Due to the re-tendering of the behaviour hubs evaluation contract, the interim report will now be published in 2024 but this will not impact the programme,” the spokesperson said.
